Orkans
Orkans are a race of peaceful, crafty, intelligent and usually emotionless aliens from the planet Ork. The most notable members of this race are Mork, Mearth and Orson. Biology Orkans are a humanoid species almost identical to Earth's humans in appearance, but unlike them, they have a number of genetic differences that an earthling would not be aware of without extensively getting to know an Orkan. An Orkan, for example, has many organs similar to an earthling's, but unlike them, they have three hearts and no liver. Their ears are also just removable attachments and for some Orkans it is difficult to tell the difference between a male and female as "some parts" are also interchangeable (apparently referring to the breasts), however this was not a matter of confusion with Orkans before as romance had long since been outlawed along with emotions, although as Mork's reports about Earth have grown in popularity, it seems Orkans have adopted to be more physically similar to humans by being more easy to tell apart. Orkan ancestry is notable for the fact that ancient Orkans did not descend from anything remotely humanoid and instead descended from Ork's native chickens, which would explain their strong fascination with eggs and domestic fowl. The fact that they are descended from birds may explain the detachable parts mentioned above as chickens do not have human-like ears or breasts, suggesting Orkans were unable to naturally develop them and had to artificially make said parts to better blend in with other humanoid aliens. Orkans are composed entirely of membranous tissue, and certain pharmaceuticals will cause them to shrink for a brief period of time. Orkans are also unique in that they drink through their fingers and are also capable of freely changing their skin color from human-like tones to a glowing green color. Orkans are very long lived, as Mork has implied to have lived many "Bleems" (which is the equivalent of 2000 Earth years). Orkans are mentioned as being able to spit out their toes, a habit Mork curbed in order to act more human. He also stated he stopped doing that because he didn't like getting his socks wet with drool. Another oddity in Orkan biology is that when they sneeze, they sound like they're laughing. They also sneeze when they're afraid. Reproduction and Aging Orkan reproduction became outlawed presumably around the same time emotions and courting were banned. As such the only means of maintaining the future of the race was through artificial reproduction via the creation of test tube babies (with a beaker for a "mother" and an eyedropper for a "father"). Newborn Orkans would then be cared for by emotionless robotic nannies until they are old enough to attend school. Orkans are notable for aging backwards which was apparently an artificial change according to an Orkan Elder as Orkans wanted to look matured and respected from the moment of their birth. This artificial change is now a permanent part of Orkan biology as even babies born through natural reproduction will age backwards. Before artificial reproduction was common place, male and female Orkans would reproduce much like humans, but Orkans instead laid tiny eggs through their stomachs which ended up making a navel in the process. Once an egg is laid, it will be placed in a nest of straw and sticks where it will continue to grow until it reaches a size slightly larger than an adult Orkan. Once at full size, the egg will hatch into an elderly-looking infant. Orkans can also breed with other humanoid aliens, such as Earth's humans, however when mating with Eartlings, it will be the male who lays the egg rather than the female, a realization which left Mork perplexed but he reasoned it as being due to that mating between two different species had never happened before. The half-breed child will be completely healthy but be more Orkan than human, as it will mentally mature faster than a human infant and have all the powers (and the aging) of an Orkan. Abilities Orkans posses a number of psychic abilities that border on the superhuman. These abilities manifest and are focused through their index finger. With their finger they are capable of creating force-fields and deadly energy beams (which they rarely use due to their pacifism). They can even use their finger to control the mind of others or even freeze them in place for a long amount of time with no memory of it happening. However some humans can resist this if they have a strong enough will and free spirit. Orkans can also telekinetically move objects with their fingers. They can also imbue humans with this ability for brief periods of time. Orkans also posses some psychic abilities, as they can read the minds of others and share thoughts but only if they are physically touching. Orkans can telepathically communicate with each other long distances no matter how many lightyears they are apart, as seen with Mork and Orson. Orkans are also very intelligent and can create all manner of amazing biological and technological marvels. Mork even makes a group of racist humans change skin colors and even their physical ethnicity. Culture Eggs Orkans think highly of eggs and chickens due to their ancient chicken-like ancestors and use their image in many of their rituals. There are even those who practice the art of "Eggsorcism" which is a spiritual practice used to keep an Orkan's mind pure and untainted by emotions and foreign behavior, such as human spirits. Their fascination with eggs is so great that all of their ships and some devices are even designed after them and several of their native traditions revolve around the usage of eggs or materials that immediately remind one of chickens. Philosophies Orkans are a race of pacifists who abolished violence due to the fact that they find it useless and find hiding a better way to win battles instead of using violence to the point where they could actually hide their entire planet. They also view emotions as troublesome and useless, and their stance on emotions and humor (and human behavior) was so strict that displays of either were considered a crime punishable by banishment. However because of Mork's reports and his success in showing one of the Orkan elders the charm of Earth's ways, more Orkans have begun showing a bit more human-like qualities and interests in Earthling views and culture. Religions The Orkan religion is not very detailed, but they have an understanding of gods, rituals and traditions although some Orkans do not seem to follow a specific religion but can learn to better understand them. The only thing that is known about the Orkan religion is that they consider ferns to be a sacred plant and it even has its own holiday where Orkans dress up as ferns and perform a ritualistic dance, and their religion also has a deity named Beba the God of Humility who apparently resembles the earthing toy "Jack-in-the-Box". It appears that the Orkan religion is the main and only belief on Ork, as some Orkans find the idea of a planet not having one belief to unite a species to be primitive. Orkans have the ability to see and communicate with the spirits of the deceased to a degree but have very little understanding of the mechanics of the afterlife. Orkans have a limited understanding of philosophies and religions on other planets, as they only have a basic grasp of Earth's ways before Mork began making his reports, and Mork himself has adopted many of his wife's views and faith, and incorporated them into his own Orkan traditions. Courting Orkans used to have marriage rituals and romance, but like with emotions, they too were banned more than 2000 years ago until Mork broke the law by marrying the earthling Mindy. Apparently it was customary for Orkans to perform a ritual dance on their Honeymoon where one of the mates would don on a chicken head mask and play egg-like maracas to please the other mate. With the banning of marriage, it became common practice for Orkans to reproduce solely via the artificial production of test tube babies. With the marriage between Mork and Mindy (and the birth of their son) it appears romance will blossom again amongst Orkan kind especially with the younger generation, as witnessed by the interactions between the young Mearth and Zelka. Technology Orkan technology is far more advanced than anything on earth thanks to their great intelligence, and even an Orkan child's science project has the potential to become a powerful self-aware AI capable of tyrannical tendencies. Most of their equipment, devices and transportation is designed after the image of the egg which Orkans are very fond of. Their egg-like Orkan ships are very advanced and can travel lightyears in a matter of seconds and can supply the pilot with as much life support as they need. It appears there are several versions of the standard Orkan ship, such as the large and compact model, and a disposable model for cover missions which can be cracked open like an egg. Orkan robotics is very advanced and even a "nimnul" like Mork is capable of making an outdated Earth robot function and think like a human being to the point where it may even gain a genuine life of its own. Orkans also have access to time travel shoes although it is unknown if this is a device of their own creation or of another alien race. Orkans have created cloning technology, however their clones of other species are not perfect due to their limited understanding of emotions and personality. Category:Aliens Category:Orkans Category:People Category:Characters Category:Major characters